Michael Bisping's legion of potential opponents in the middleweight division must wait until at least October to see him back in the octagon as he recovers from a detached retina picked up at UFC 159.

In a bizarre twist following the Englishman's technical-decision victory over Alan Belcher in Newark in April, which ended with Belcher floored following an accidental eye-poke, it is Bisping who emerged with a serious eye injury while Belcher escaped with stitches to a gashed eyelid.

"After the fight against Alan Belcher, Michael Bisping completely lost all peripheral vision in his right eye," UFC Tonight host Ariel Helwani announced on FUEL TV.

"He went to see an eye on doctor on Tuesday and he found out that he had a detached retina. On Thursday, he had surgery to fix the detached retina. He's hoping to return to the UFC in October."

The news is a blow to Bisping's hopes of moving into title contention, particularly with Rich Franklin, Luke Rockhold, Constantinos Philippou and Cung Le each calling out the Manchester-based fighter in recent weeks.

On the plus side, the enforced period on the sidelines gives Bisping the opportunity to recover from another surgery, a planned minor procedure to correct a nagging nerve issue in his vertebrae.